Monthly Archives: January 2011

General David Petraeus who heads the military effort in Afghanistan delivered his annual assessment of what is happening in that country. He was proud of military success in southern areas of the country and reduction of Talbian forces in that region. He noted the Taliban is moving north and that section of Afghanistan will become an important sector in the fight to bring peace to the country. He was happy that violence in Kabul has been significantly reduced. However, Petraeus admitted a major problem was corruption in government and promised new efforts to “combat corruption and the criminal patronage networks” which make it virtually impossible to create an effective and honest government. We wish the general success in this area although we doubt he will witness any important changes as long as Karzai leads the nation.

Petraeus noted the initial goal of being in Afghanistan was to wipe out al-Qaida. But, he never gets into failures on the part of Bush which allowed the Taiban to regroup.

Most witnesses believe it was a man carrying a suitcase in Moscow’s Demeodedovo airport who shouted, “I Will Kill You All” before triggering a blast that resulted in the deaths of 35 people and wounding of over a hundred. “i saw the suitcase, the suitcase was on fire,” said eyewitness Artyom Zhilenkov who was a few feet from the man causing the carnage. Early reports claim they found the head of “Arab appearance” which supposedly belonged to the bomber. Most experts believe the bomber originated from the Muslim Northern Caucasus region of Russia. Naturally, President Medvedev ordered an investigation. There is scant doubt an honest investigation will conclude that thousands of Muslims in Russia encounter prejudice and discrimination and that people in Chechen intensely dislike Russia’s control of their region. Al we know at present is that a man carrying a suitcase entered the airport and decided to set off an explosion.

Russia is a time bomb ready to explode from ethnic anger at the ruling European leaders of their nation. Russia has yet to even conceive there is need for multicultural education in its schools and a concerted effort to end prejudice in the work place. The fault lies not in the stars of the south, but in the minds and hearts of the Russian people.

An unusual alliance has emerged in Egypt which seeks to build on what happened in Tunisia as a model for their own country. The coalition includes youth activists, political Islamists, industrials workers, and hardcore football fans. They are using a holiday which celebrates the work of policemen in their nation to stage protests against police brutality and oppression of those who seek freedom of speech. The coalition wants the ouster of the current Minister of the Interior who refuses to clamp down on police who resort to torture in order to silence opponents of the Mubarak regime. Activists want an end to the Emergency Law which is being used to prevent freedom of the press, assembly and free speech. The protest is termed: ‘day or revolution against torture, corruption, poverty and unemployment.” People will be waving Tunisian flags as a symbol of their desires.

Those who include Islamist followers in their program of seeking freedom might well remember how Iranian youth also included that group and the end result is a totalitarian Islamic government that denies youth their rights to freedom of speech and the right to universities that are open to all ideas.

My husband is a member of the Tea Party and he walks around in those 19th century clothes with a hat on top of his head. At night, before sex, he makes me read the Constitution to make certain that I do not violate the Bill of Rights. Is he right to make me recite the Constitution before sex? If I oppose him, he says it is in the Constitution.
Exhausted Harriet

Dear Exhausted Harriet:

I assume he is referring to the 2nd Amendment which allows him to shoot off his weapon without any interference from outside parties. Sorry, Harriet, but it is his Constitutional right to fire away and he can’t be stopped unless, of course, you are one of those Socialist Commies. Perhaps, you are a liberal. If so, demand a loose interpretation of the 2nd Amendment which requires that if he fails to hit the target or over shoots, you have a right to turn your back on the entire activity.
Sincerely,
Straight Shooting Dr. Fred

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, the Republican Party under the leadership of President George Bush told the American people it was necessary to engage in a war in Afghanistan and one in Iraq in order to save our women from being raped by Muslim terrorist men and our children forced to pray at mosques. Ah, that was a long time ago before 5,000 Americans died and we spent over a trillion dollars in order to pursue these aims. But, today the Republican party has gotten religion. Newly elected Tea Party folk insist it is necessary to cut the military budget. Of course, these same Tea Party people were the ones who shouted with glee when Bush began those wars and blamed “liberals” for having defeatist attitudes. I guess Tea Party followers have now become liberals when it comes to issues of the military. Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, says: “It is time to get serious about preserving the country for our posterity. The mentality that certain programs are ‘off the table’ must be taken off the table.” In fact, leading opponent of spending, Ron Paul is now allying with liberal Democrats in order to close military bases.

The rhetoric of cutting the military budget sounds alluring, but when it comes to ending programs that provide jobs for people in one’s congressional district, shouts of “cut the budget” might be replaced by, “I meant cut the programs in your district, not mine!” Senator John McCain is already sighing in disbelief that his beloved military might receive less money.

Oh, if I support cutting the military does that make me one of those Socialist Liberals who is against defending America?

P.S. We support cuts in the military. They should begin by reducing expenditures to build fighter planes that have no enemy planes to confront or ships that will never engage in combat with an enemy ship.

There is once again proof for conservatives in America that Barack Obama’s Socialist, anti-business policies are destroying this nation. General Motors announced that its sales in China of cars and trucks surpassed sales in the United States. I realize this news is a blow to Tea Party members who do not wish THE GOVERNMENT to interfere in how capitalist enterprises function since it would be much better if GM had gone bankrupt and closed. If that had happened American automobile companies would not be selling more cars in China and this nation would be number one! Alas, Socialist Barack Obama did it again. He saved an American business company. One can hear groans of dismay from Wall Street at the anti-business attitude of the president. GM executives will be receiving higher salaries this year due to the actions of the anti-business president.

Oh, for the information of the Republican Party, GM announced it was reopening plants in Flint, Michigan and rehiring workers. Oh, for the information of the Republican Party, GM announced it had recaptured the lead in world sales of automobiles from Toyota. Damn it, those LIBERAL SOCIALISTS continue to save American businesses. No wonder they are hated for being anti-business!

Hundreds of people were gathered at the Moscow airport waiting to pick up their luggage, when suddenly, a huge explosion ripped through the crowd sending body parts swirling in every direction. Most probably, it was the work of Chechen rebels who are still fighting Russia after a decade of conflict. There is no justification for killing the innocent because one is oppressed, there is no excuse for killing children because my children have died at the hands of Russians. It makes no difference whether one is Christian or Muslim or Jewish, the death of the innocent person is a crime against humanity. I am certain there is happiness among rebel Chechens at the slaughter in Moscow. There is always joy at the death of my enemy. But, in reality, the Chechens have not killed any of their enemies. Their enemies are headed by Prime Minister Vladmir Putin and he is safe and secure in the Kremlin. If any Chechen leader believes Putin, the ex-KGB man, gives a damn that Russians have been killed, he is living in fantasy.

The rebel can kill those who have not harmed him. The rebel can feel smug and justified in knowledge those who he regards as the “enemy” died this morning. But, no one who fights in the name of God can kill the innocent and still believe in that God.

The ever turbulent world of Lebanese politics became even more confusing when a Sunni businessman, Najib Miakti joined coalition led by the fundamentalist Muslim Hezbollah party which used his party’s votes in order to form a government. Hezbollah and its allies had left the unity government led by Saad al-Hariri because the government had decided to accept a report by a UN court which accused Hezbollah of playing a role in the assassination of Rafik al-Hariri. Naturally, the prospect of a Hezbollah led government created concern within Israel which fears the presence of a group pledged to its extermination that will not only have its own missiles but might have power to use the Lebanon army. Regional powers such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had urged creation of a unity government in order to avoid fostering additional fear of war within a region that simply wants peace.

Lebanon is divided between Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims and a variety of Christian sects. Saad al-Hariri is the leader of most Sunnis and now that he is out of the government the prospect of additional internal conflict within Lebanon grows more likely. One spark arising from a Hezbollah missile landing in Israel will lead to a devastating war.

On my visits to observe student teachers in most urban areas I am compelled to go through a metal detector as are all students. If I try to get on a plane, not only do they make me go through the metal detector, but they take films of my body. Heck, if I try to pay my income tax the IRS building requires that I undergo an inspection in order to make certain a nut case will not enter with guns blazing because he doesn’t like the IRS. But, in the city of Detroit, anyone can walk into a police station without being checked in order to make certain they do not carry weapons. Yesterday, a local nut case entered a police station, whipped out his revolver and began blasting away. By the time he finished four policemen were wounded and the man was killed. Police Chief Ralph Godbee says, “we have a number of officers who are shaken up.”

Perhaps, the understatement of the year was the police chief’s comment about security. “We have to take a step back and look at security at our facilities.” Gee, how did you figure that one out?

A huge controversy has arisen over documents released by Al Jazeera which indicate major concessions on the part of Palestinian negotiators in order to secure peace with Israel and creation of an independent Palestinian homeland. In 2008, Palestinians told Israel Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni that all large Jewish settlements on the outer edges of Jerusalem could be yielded to Israel in a peace settlement. However, they made clear that East Jerusalem must eventually be the new capitol of a Palestinian state. They were also willing to allow Israel to keep about 5% of the West Bank since those are areas containing extensive Jewish settlements. According to the documents, Livni still did not believe Palestinians had gone far enough because several Jewish settlements were not included in their offer. Documents also claim that Palestinian negotiators were willing to agree on a plan that allowed 10,000 refugees to return each year over a ten year plan. Instead of demanding sole control of the Temple Mount, Palestinians were willing to allow an international group to be in charge.

It is still unclear if the released documents are accurate. If they are true, it once again demonstrates a stubborn attitude on the part of Israel leaders who are not satisfied with 90% of the cake but want the entire cake. Israel once again stands before the world as obstinate and refusing to seriously enter into negotiations even though promised many of their goals being achieved.